The Sterling Directive by Tim Standish – Review & Blog Tour

An engaging read.

WHAT’S THE BOOK ABOUT

Captain Charles Maddox returns secretly to London from an exile in disgrace only to be arrested, imprisoned, and threatened with the death penalty. He is rescued by a shadowy government agency called the Map Room who give him a choice: return to prison or become an agent, codenamed Sterling, and help them uncover a government conspiracy connected to the Ripper murders.

Led by the coolly calculating Milady and her associate Collier, and aided by fellow agent Church and mechanical computer expert Patience, the freshly appointed Agent Sterling must rapidly learn his new trade if he is to survive the murky and violent fringes of Victorian life and uncover a secret that threatens the Empire itself.

Set in 1896 in an alternative Victorian timeline where mechanical computers are a part of everyday life, The Sterling Directive blends fact and fiction to create a gripping thriller for fans of espionage and historical adventure alike.

The Sterling Directive by Tim Standish – Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

No Way Home by Christy Cooper-Burnett – Review

No Way Home by Christy Cooper-Burnett – Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Los Angeles, 2070. Christine Stewart is all excited about her vacation with her son. All she needs to do before embarking on her vacation is to complete a routine task at her job. The task is simple: travel back in time in 1867 to Oklahoma to deport a cyber-criminal and come back to present-day LA.

However, tragedy strikes—the system goes down.

Christine—along with scores of other transporters around the world—is stuck in the past with zero supplies and bare minimum training. However, it is still not the end of woes for her. Due to a glitch in the system, she is thrown further back in the past and thousands of miles away from her original drop location. Does Christine succeed in getting back to her son alive? Read No Way Home by Christy Cooper-Burnett to know more about Christine’s fate.

Phoenix (Queen’s Avatar #1) by T.S. Alexander – Review

Phoenix by T.S. Alexander – Book Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

In their quest to find an inhabitable human colony in space, the exoplanet surveyor, Endeavour, arrives in the Kepler 452 system. The crew of Endeavour is surprised to find an alien civilization, known as the Haillar, thriving there. Endeavour’s arrival triggers a first contact with the Haillar, who seem to be technologically backward and non-threatening. However, first impressions are seldom correct.

Aldeea, Kepler 452 to the humans, is a planet on the border of a star-faring empire dating back countless millennia. The Haillars can wield astonishing psychic powers called eka. They are also the most technologically developed species inhabiting the empire. However, their enemy—the Scourge—is even deadlier. A war has been going on between them for millennia.

The Endeavour has landed on Aldeea on the verge of one such imminent attack. Caught between two vastly superior enemies, the humans can survive only if they and the Haillars stand united. Easier said than done. Read Phoenix, the first book in the Queen’s Avatar Series, by T.S. Alexander to find out who wins this war.

Our Dried Voices by Greg Hickey – Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

By 2189, cancer, AIDS and a host of other fatal diseases are no longer life-threatening. However, within this time span, two more World Wars have ravaged humanity. Global warming has reached unprecedented levels. Considering these circumstances, a diverse group of wealthy investors concludes a new planet, capable of sustaining life, needs to be found.

In 2092, an Earth-like planet, named Pearl, is discovered which is sixteen light years ahead of Earth. After numerous manned missions are sent there to lay the foundations for a human settlement, a spaceship carrying thousands of people finally reaches Pearl in 2235, ninety years after its launch.

Hundreds of years later, the current human population settled in Pearl are simple beings—the result of living in a Utopian colony where every want of theirs is satisfied automatically. As a result, humans no longer need to think or work.

However, for the first time since their existence on Pearl, a series of machine malfunctions threaten to engulf the colony in chaos. It’s up to a young man, Samuel, to fix these malfunctions and save the colony. He soon discovers these malfunctions are deliberate. He must find out why this is happening, and who are behind these?

The Nothing Within by Andy Giesler – Review

The Nothing Within by Andy Geisler – Review

Rating – 4/5

In the year 2161, the rise of the chimera precipitated a catastrophic event (called the Reckoning) that wiped away the human population from the Earth, barring a few people. Generations later, descendants of those survivors are leading a rustic life within walled villages, afraid to go beyond the boundaries due to the fear of the chimeras. Further, they honor traditions and have a deep mistrust for technology.

Young Root, however, is different. Blind daughter of the village guardian, her endless curiosity and impertinence test her fellow villagers’ patience. A tragic event leads her to the wild country beyond the village walls where she learns the truth about her ancestors, and how the world she inhabits has come to this state.

The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas – Review

The Psychology of Time Travel – Review

⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3 out of 5.

Four female scientists construct the world’s first time machine in 1967. However, one of them suffers a breakdown on the day they showcase their invention to the world. To protect the project’s future, she is ostracized from that group, and her contributions are erased from history.

Five decades later, time travel is a profitable business and an elite profession. A young woman, Ruby, knows that her grandmother, Barbara, was the time-travel pioneer who went mad, but nobody in her family talks about it. One fine morning, Barbara receives a cryptic message from the future conveying about the murder of a woman. Who is she? Can she be saved?